Tablets Will Not Succeed Without WiFi-only Versions
I’ve been thinking about all those tablets that were shown off or announced at this year’s CES, and I find the current situation troubling. So far, every single one that we expect to come to market this year will be sold by one of the mobile providers. It seems to me the tablet manufacturers are trying to take the easy way towards beating Apple, and while their approach is good for them, I don’t think it is good for consumers.
Today I saw a few articles about Microsoft having sold 2 million Windows Phone 7 licenses. Those licenses represent sales to Microsoft, meaning for them, Windows Phone 7 is pretty successful, even if you don’t see a ton of people using the phone. Tablet manufacturers are taking the same approach, because selling their tablets to the carriers amounts to high upfront sales, regardless of how many people actually buy the tablets.
A significant amount, possibly more than 60%, of iPad sales are the WiFi-only versions. The majority of the people buying tablets are voting with their wallets and saying they don’t want to add the expense of monthly data charges on top of an already expensive device.
Frankly, I am in this category. I would like an Android tablet but I am not interested in adding yet another monthly data charge on top of what I already pay for my smartphones. Consequently, I am not running out to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab, and I don’t think many other people will either. If the tablet manufacturers are serious about taking on Apple they have got to go all-in on the competition, which means selling WiFi-only versions at the same time they sell their mobile broadband versions and meeting the iPad’s prices.
